Thank you so much for the feedback!!
I really like the audio tick suggestion! It would be a simple extra function call, since it already tracks when the slider value is changed. Such a great way to make it more responsive!
I agree that naming the tab "Story" would probably make more sense. I think I finished the help menu at 2:00 in the morning the night before it was due, haha.
The scrubbing detection definitely could use some refinement. I started with a naive implementation, which worked fine enough in the editor, but certainly could be more elegant. If I get around to updating the game, that's probably where I would optimize first.
Keeping the inputs layered is really good advice. The jumping/fast-falling could've easily been adapted to multiple different inputs. Godot allows you to create input maps, but I stubbornly used the default input maps instead of creating my own. I don't know why I never changed it other than getting used to it, and forgetting it was weird, haha.
I think you're onto something with pausing outside the viewport. I think it would've helped the pacing to have the end-of-day summary be its own screen instead of a pop-up menu. That way, you can review your day while having a more obvious time to purchase upgrades. I do like the riskiness of attempting to purchase upgrades mid-day, and the risk/reward trade-off that comes with that. However, you make a great point that there isn't enough downtime.
I actually had each of the upgrades have its own tooltip, but they take too long to pop up, haha. Even more reason to create that end-of-day screen. If I had more time, I would also replace the welcome pop-up with a skippable step-by-step tutorial. I found myself having to explain more details than I should when having my friends playtest, haha.
I want to thank you again for playing and providing feedback! Super cool of you to take the time to do so!!